


together we're going to go out tonight (it's going to feel all right)

by janie_tangerine



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dorks in Love, Double Dating, M/M, Multi, Robb Stark is a Gift, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-04-06 02:51:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4205172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janie_tangerine/pseuds/janie_tangerine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>in which Jon, Sam, Robb and Theon go on a double date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	together we're going to go out tonight (it's going to feel all right)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mockyrfears](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mockyrfears/gifts).



> This was written last year for [sansastark](http://sansastark.tumblr.com/)'s birthday and I might have procrastinated a lot on finding it a title which is the only reason it took me that long. I suck at this. Anyway, the title is from Bruce Springsteen bless his catalog, nothing is mine and there might be very mild spoilers for Captain America: The Winter Soldier which is the movie they go to see. Yes, I wrote this like the week after seeing it, I'm that obvious.

“We should do  _what_?” Jon isn’t entirely sure of what Robb might have just proposed.

“… Go on a double date? And stop looking like that, since when it’s that hard of a concept to grasp?”

Jon is still nowhere near entirely sure of it.

“Uhm, and how is that a good idea?”

“Well,  _you_  were the one brooding because  _your_ boyfriend’s self-esteem issues, not me.”

“You do that all the time, you know.”

“ _This_  wasn’t the occasion.”

Right - fine, Robb does have a point here - Jon  _had_ , in fact, spent ten minutes ranting at him about wanting to land a solid into Sam’s dad’s face, because seriously, he gets that after seventeen years of sharing vital space with the guy you’d have issues, but this thing where Sam always insists to stay in because he doesn’t want people to think  _less_  of Jon because they’re dating wasn’t cute in the beginning and isn’t cute now that they’ve been together six months. You’d think that at this point he'd have realized that Jon doesn’t really give a damn about what other people think, and it’s not like they didn’t hang out together all the time in front of people when they were just friends, but no such luck still. And while Robb  _does_  spend his sweet time muttering about wanting to land a solid into Theon’s dad’s face, that wasn’t one of those occasions.

“I still don’t see how it’s supposed to help, though.”

“For one, four people being out together isn’t the same as two, so we could all be friendly hanging out for all everyone else knows. And - Jon, it’s not like I’m much better off than you there.”

“You  _do_  go out on dates with Theon.”

“Yes, in carefully selected places where no one might realize we’re having a thing and not just hanging out. I’m not going to be a jerk about that because I know why he doesn’t want his relatives to find out and he has perfectly good reasons, but maybe I get tired of that, too.”

And - right, that’s another point.

“Why haven’t we founded the  _I hate my boyfriend’s dad_ club already?”

“No clue, we totally should get on with it,” Robb groans. “But seriously. Just ask him. We can agree on keeping the PDAs to a minimum, we can go somewhere nice. Hey, maybe Sam could end up realizing you don’t really care about holding hands in public, so one of us would get something out of it.”

“Wouldn’t you? Hold hands, I mean.”

“Considering that the one time I was at Theon’s place in the last five years or so his dad said that if I ever showed up there again he’d  _kick someone out_ , no, I think I’m going to play along with it.”

They  _really_  do have to found that club, Jon thinks as he drops sitting on his bed.

“So. Double date, you said?”

“Yeah.”

“And what would we end up doing on it?”

“We get lunch somewhere, go catch a movie and if nothing horrible happened in between we also get dinner?”

“And do you think picking the movie would be harmless when  _we_  can’t even agree on one?”

Robb maybe looks a bit sheepish at that - after all, it’s true that they have completely divergent tastes and the few times they went to see something together they ended up picking something neither of them wanted to watch in the first place because they could never agree on anything.

“We don’t get a say in it and let  _them_  pick.”

Jon blanches. “Robb, I don’t think  _they_  have the same tastes.”

“Maybe, but they probably could compromise a lot better than us.”

“I’m still nowhere near sure about it but okay, I’ll ask then. Saturday?”

Robb nods and Jon grabs his cellphone as Robb does the same and opens up a new text.

_My brother wants us to go on a double date with him and Theon. Minimal PDAs, or so he says. He’s not going to drop it. You in?_

He sends it. Then realizes that it sounded completely devoid of any feeling, which Ygritte keeps on teasing him about -  _you text like some kind of bot, anyone ever told you that? -_  and opens a new one.

_Please? Just this once._

… Not that much better, but then again Sam has known him for ten years by now, he won’t get offended at his complete inability to write heartfelt texts.

He gets an answer after five minutes.

_Sounds nice. But just if all three of you want it._

…  _of course_  he would say that.

“Robb, tell me that your boyfriend doesn’t have restrictions about the company.”

Robb snorts and hands Jon his phone, where he can see a fairly long conversation, for it having started  _five minutes before_.

 

_My brother needs to get his precious boyfriend out of his shell and convince him to date in public - you in for a double feature this Saturday?_

_What, you just need me for my amazing pep talk powers?_

_No, I want you there because if it’s the four of us we don’t have to be overtly obvious and I can spend some time with you without having to look over my shoulder for people we might know every time, how about that?_

_… You know, I didn’t think you would actually_ say  _that._

_I don’t think talking about your feelings kills anyone’s reputation. So?_

_‘Course I’m coming, idiot._

 

“Seriously?” Jon asks, looking at the screen.

“Seriously  _what_?”

Jon isn’t even going to waste time explaining Robb that they should stop making his teeth rot even through text conversations and instead texts Sam back.

_Robb was the one proposing it, I obviously want to and Theon just said he’s cool with it._

_Oh. Fine then. See you on Saturday? <3_

“But how cute,” Robb says, looking over his shoulder.

“Just don’t tell Sansa,” Jon replies in a resignated tone as he answers.

 _Thank you._ Without any damned emoticon.

He really, really hopes that it doesn’t turn out to be a disaster - not that he and Theon ever were the best of friends in the first place, but he vows to himself to just ignore any teasing coming his way. He also really hopes that Robb makes clear that if there’s teasing it should be headed  _his_  way, but Robb is a responsible person and he’s known Sam for ten years too and Jon really should trust him to handle this.

He tells Ygritte the next day and he takes the resolution to never ever share her this kind of information with her again if she’s drinking coffee - she almost chokes herself on it.

“I want video proof,” she says when she’s stopped coughing.

“You want  _what_?”

“From what I’ve seen of your brother’s boyfriend? It’s going to be  _golden._  Are you sure I can’t tag along? I  _could_  find myself a date for the occasion.”

“Ygritte, the last thing we need is even more people killing each other about which movie we should watch.”

“Jon, stop being  _this_  gloomy - like,  _fine_ , we know that if Sam isn’t around you’re automatically gloomy, but that’s a bit too much even for you.”

“I just don’t want it to make things worse!”

“Christ, you know nothing,” Ygritte groans before ordering more coffee.

Jon hopes she’s right and figures that he has five days to get adjusted to the idea.

It can’t be  _that_  bad, can it?

 

—

 

Robb  _really_ , really wishes Jon would stop fidgeting.

Also because  _he_  was the one insisting that they should get out early because he wanted to be on time, and now they’re in front of the Starbucks near Jon’s school thirty minutes before they actually agreed on. At least Jon’s school isn’t around any place where people from his and Theon’s would hang out.

“Jon,  _relax._  We’re supposed to have fun here, not to think about all the ways it could possibly go wrong.”

“I know.”

“You’re still doing that.”

“I  _know._ ”

Robb gives him a pat on the back and leans back against the wall. It’s kind of adorable that Jon is  _this_  invested in it, but he’s nowhere near as worried - he doubts that the potential for disaster is as high as Jon thinks. Never mind that while Jon probably assumes that their respective dates are completely incompatible Robb is pretty sure they aren’t  _that_  much - at worst, they can bond over their dads being despicable human beings.

He’s nowhere near surprised when Sam gets there fifteen minutes earlier than the given time.

“Wait, I’m not the first for once?” He asks, looking at the both of them.

“You can thank  _him_ ,” Robb replies serenely, nodding towards Jon. “He wasn’t going to risk being late.”

“Traitor,” Jon mutters, and it’s obvious that he’s really putting some effort in keeping all the touching strictly friendly. Sam  _does_  look a bit skittish, and he’s flushing just a bit, but maybe it’s because it’s slightly chilly and he seemed to have walked here. In the end Jon settles for putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder as they lean up against the wall, nothing overtly obvious, and while they chat about their homework Robb glances at his wristwatch. When it’s time and Theon hasn’t showed up yet he doesn’t worry that much and joins the conversation. After ten minutes or so Theon isn’t there still, and Robb is starting to get slightly worried - no text as well. He doubts Theon stood him up - he doesn’t really do that kind of thing, regardless of what other people might assume - but he usually warns if he’s late.

Well, at least Sam trying to explain Jon that no, the law of cosines doesn’t really go the way he had understood from their teacher’s explanation, is kind of amusing to watch, if only because Jon is totally not getting it.

“No, it’s not like that. It’s a lot easier than you’re making it to be, you know.”

“You say it,  _you_  are the one who gets that stuff.”

“Snow, how fucking hard is it to grasp that it’s just another version of the Pythagorean theorem, which I should hope you understood at some point before junior high?”

Robb almost jumps - he hadn’t heard Theon coming from behind him, and if he knew what he was talking about he must have been standing there for at least a bit.

“… That was a good way to put it,” Sam says.

“And since when are you such an expert?” Jon asks instead, looking like he’s already getting the beginnings of an headache.

“Why do you think Robb here has been scraping by in maths for the last few years instead of failing it?”

“And  _how_  have you been scraping by in English lit, then?”

“Right, right, my bad,” Theon admits, and while Robb has already guessed that there’s a reason why he was late - he looks slightly tense, and it’s obvious he’s really trying to not make anyone notice it - he can ask for explanations later.

He casts a glance around, then moves up and drags Theon forward for a quick kiss - he’s not going to start making out properly  _here_ , but considering what started this entire thing  _he_  will indulge in some PDA, thank you very much.

“Now that I legitimately shut you up, how about we go get something to eat?”

-

At least the coffee shop is half-empty even if it’s almost lunchtime - they manage to find a free table with cushioned armchairs.

Then Theon says that since he was late he’ll amend by going to order for everyone, and since he’s there he’ll go to the bathroom first, and at that Robb knows that something’s not right.

“Yeah, sure, and you’ll manage to bring drinks and food for four people on  _one_  tray? I’m coming with you. You two just get comfortable, we’ll be back in a few. What do we get you?”

When Jon says he’ll have one espresso and  _no_ , they shouldn’t bring sugar, Theon groans out loud. “Seriously, Snow, do you have to get  _boring_  drinks all the time?”

“Says the one who doesn’t even order drinks and just gets what Robb has.”

“There’s a reason why he never picks the small size,” Theon grins back.

Robb rolls his eyes - they've been having this argument since forever - but he does notice that Sam is trying really, really hard not to snort.

Good.  _Very_  good.

He drags Theon away before they can start bickering for the next two hours and meanwhile he glances back and sees Jon settling close enough to Sam that their sides are touching. 

Well, at least his brother is getting the gist of what he’s supposed to be doing here.

He waits until they’re in line and then clears his throat.

“You really didn’t need to go to the bathroom, did you?”

Theon doesn’t even try to deny it. “How did you know?”

“You’re holding yourself so stiff it’s a miracle they haven’t noticed. Go do whatever it is that you need to, I’ll order and save the spot in the line if you’re done earlier.”

“Robb -“

“Just go, you can tell me later.”

Theon goes outside for maybe a couple of minutes, then comes back - there are four people in front of them, so Robb hasn’t ordered yet.

“Sorry. I just wanted to make sure that my mom doesn’t try to call at home, since I’m not there anyway.”

“What, left in a hurry this morning?”

“Let’s put it like that.”

“If I tell you that you should sleep over tonight will you stop being that tense?”

“Can I?”

“Why are you even asking?”

It’s probably a mercy that they’re at the counter now. Robb orders Jon’s coffee and Sam’s tea along with the sandwiches they had asked for, then another couple for himself and Theon, and then when Theon tells him to just get whatever he wants for the drinks he rolls his eyes and gets a big strawberry and cream frappuccino - he knows that Theon pretends to hate  _girly_  drinks but he likes it, and he’s going to drink half of that anyway. When they go back downstairs, Jon is still pressed up against Sam and they’re looking at each other like the smitten morons they are - he should probably point out that by now everyone in the room would have to be blind not to get that they’re together.

“ _Strawberry and cream_?” Jon asks when he sees the monstrosity that Robb puts in between them. “Seriously?”

“What? I like it.”

“In  _that_  quantity?”

“That’s why I skipped breakfast this morning.”

Jon totally doesn’t buy it but he refrains from further commenting. Sam smiles into his tea when Theon takes the first drink from the frappuccino and Robb doesn’t even try to pretend that he has a problem with it.

 

—

 

Getting it out of the way: Sam really didn’t know how to feel about the whole double date idea when Jon asked him. He had accepted because it did sound fun, and he knows that Robb is the kind of person who wouldn’t suggest this kind of thing if he had any doubts that it would not work, but considering that he has talked to Theon more or less ten times in total in his entire life and it was always small talk at Robb’s birthday parties or saying hi when they met each other at the Starks’ place, he had no clue of what to expect from hanging out with the guy for a day.

Never mind that Robb isn’t taking the  _no PDAs_  rule seriously at all - other than sharing his drink with Theon, until now he hasn’t shied from holding hands, stealing a couple of quick kisses here and there or hand-holding, which on one side is kind of adorable, on the other is making him wish that he had more guts and would just do the same thing. But every time he decides that no one is going to die if he does the same thing, that voice in his head that sounds like his father tells him that it’s already a miracle they got this far and does he want to make everyone wonder what would Jon do with  _him_  when he could have his pick of every reasonably hot girl he’d want.

Never mind that he knows that it rationally makes no sense.

Anyway, the point is that he had no clue of what he should have expected. To be honest, he had supposed that since Jon actually knows Theon a lot better than he does, the three of them would have done most of the talking, which he has absolutely nothing against.

It does  _not_  go like that.

What happens is that when they’re in the middle of eating Jon grabs one of those free newspapers you find in the subway and puts it on the table in between him and Theon, since they’re sitting one in front of the other.

“Since if it comes down to Robb and I we’ll discuss the movie to watch until tonight, you two are picking.”

“What?” Theon sounds like he’s about to laugh in Jon’s face.

“He’s right,” Robb says, “we can never agree on anything. So we figured you two could do it. We’re not going to object to whatever you choose.”

“I can’t even with the two of you,” Theon mutters, then grabs Robb’s cup and drinks some more of the strawberry frappuccino. “Right then. What’s on?”

Sam grabs the newspaper and opens it at the page listing the cinemas. He glances at Theon again, then he looks down at the list. He automatically rules out everything that he knows Jon would loathe, then he starts wondering what kind of movie Theon would be into, since the last thing he wants is having an argument with someone he barely even knows. Maybe he likes the same thing Robb likes? Considering that Jon does complain a lot about how much his brother loves those testosterone-filled action movies that he loathes, that could be an option. Not that Sam likes that kind of movie, but still. There’s something with Liam Neeson who looks like it fits the bill, so he stammers out the title, not sounding entirely too convinced.

Theon stares at him for a moment, then shakes his head. “If you’re picking it because you know  _Robb_  is addicted to that shit, it’s actually adorable, but you can drop it right now. I can live without paying to see that thing, never mind that  _he_  will drag me along sometime next week.”

“Hey, who says -“

“Deny that.”

Robb raises his hands in defeat and doesn’t.

“Oh. Good. Because - uh, I don’t really like action movies?”

“Never said I liked that kind of action movie either. Also - uhm, please no chick flicks?”

“I hate chick flicks,” Sam replies, feeling kind of more at ease.

“A man after my own taste. Wait, hand it over.”

Sam hands the newspaper over. Theon scowls. “Crap, the only thing in here that is actually worth my money is the Cap sequel, but I’m not dragging those two heathens who just like fucking  _Batman_ to it when I saw it already.”

At that, Sam can’t help the small grin slowly spreading all over his face.

“Why,” he says, “I already saw that, too, but I could totally stand going again.”

Theon raises his eyes from the newspaper and looks at him, then slowly grins back. “Guess what, I  _could_  totally stand seeing it again too, then. Snow, you could say before that you’re dating people with a better taste than yours.”

“Seriously?  _You_  like Captain America?”

“Why shouldn’t I? And Robb, why the hell are you looking that giddy when you slept through the first one?”

“Not your business, Theon. And by all means, Captain America it is then.”

Theon looks honestly suspicious, but he lets it drop in favor of stealing Robb’s cup again and looking straight at Sam. “So, tell me you read the comic.”

Sam grins. “That entire run.”

“Jon,” Robb says, “get comfortable. This is going to be long.”

The last thing Sam had been expecting when he said yes was that he’d spend half an hour discussing comics with Theon, who looks entirely excited to ‘talk to someone who actually knows what I’m referring to, thank fuck’, because Robb apparently just isn’t cut for it. He’s so into it that he only stops when he hears Robb telling Jon ‘see, I  _told_  you they had something to talk about’.

Theon hears it as well and he sends Robb an entirely fond look that would be seriously worthy of chick flicks. “You would have imagined it’d end like this, right?”

“You two aren’t just staring awkwardly at your food, aren’t you? Of course I had. Also we should probably get going, since there was one showing nearby in like half an hour and we still should get dinner later. You can keep talking about how much you hated  _Civil War_  when we get there.”

At that, he stands up and reaches down, grabbing Theon’s hand and hauling him up, and for a moment he’s  _this_  tempted to just do the same with Jon and screw everything else, and then he looks at the stairs and sees two people from Jon’s swimming team coming in.

He chickens out at the last moment and doesn’t do anything after all, and he supposes he’ll be fine with Jon’s hand on his shoulder as usual.

They haven’t been out of the coffee shop for a minute when Theon moves from Robb’s side and tells him and Jon to go ahead, he has to discuss something that would definitely spoil the plot with the only person here who knows something about comics, and no, he doesn’t care that neither of them minds spoilers.

And fine, he  _does_  start blathering about the end of the  _Winter Soldier_  run until Robb and Jon are fairly ahead.

“Okay, they aren’t hearing us, are they?”

“Uh, no?”

“Good. So, that really was just so that they’d leave us alone.”

“Sorry?”

“Sam, just answer me a question. Why is it that you’re dying to have chick flick moments with Jon over there but you don’t?”

“… You noticed?” He’s not even going to deny it. He knows he’s terrible at lying, he might as well own up to it.

“I’m pretty sure someone fucking blind would notice.”

Sam shrugs, looks ahead, then stares down at his own feet as he answers. “I don’t - I mean, it’s not that -“

“If it’s because you think he’s embarrassed, just don’t. I doubt he gives a shit.”

“I  _know_  he doesn’t. And I  _want_  to.”

“So what are you waiting for?”

“I - uhm, I -”

“If it’s because you think people would think he was insane or because you think he could do better, just stop that.”

Sam has to look back at him then, and fine, he hadn’t thought he was  _that_  obvious, but he must be. How would he even have guessed then?

“How - how did you guess…?”

“Takes one to know one,” Theon sighs before glancing ahead - Robb and Jon are still discussing something and the cinema is a few minutes away, so it’s not like they will have that much time left to discuss this.

Thankfully, because Sam could do with not talking about it at all.

“Sorry?  _You_  have that problem?”

“Well, I do, but I also have another problem.”

“Like?”

“Like, if anyone related to me ever finds out we’re together I’d be lucky if I only got disowned.”

“… That bad?”

“That bad,” Theon agrees. “So, well, if I were you, I’d take my chances.”

“I know it’s stupid.”

“Depends on how much you’ve been told you’re never going to be good enough to tap  _that_ , I guess,” Theon says nodding towards Robb and Jon, who are now waiting for them outside the cinema.

“… How would anyone tell  _you_  that?”

“You don’t really want to meet my dad, Tarly. Anyway, just think about it.”

“And why are you telling me this? Not that I mind, of course, but -“

“You aren’t half bad and I know how it feels. I figured I could try and speed it up. Also for my own benefit.”

“ _Your_ own benefit?”

“Robb spends his fair amount of time complaining about  _his_  brother being grumpy because you don’t cuddle enough in public, and none of them would ever say that to your face anyway, so why shouldn’t I? And by the way, didn’t you just  _love_  that variant cover they did for the reboot?”

He says the last part a lot louder, and of course he would since they got there, and  _damn_  the last thing Sam needed was the crash pep talk from  _Robb’s boyfriend_ , but - maybe he did have a point. Or two. Or ten.

He says something noncommittal about the reboot while Jon and Robb roll their eyes and get in line, and good thing he’s seen this already - at least he can afford not to follow what goes on.

One hour later, he has barely paid attention to the plot and paid a lot of attention to his surroundings. The status of things consists in Robb actually watching the movie and seeming at least mildly interested, Jon rolling his eyes every two minutes - so he’s definitely not mildly interested -, while Theon has his eyes totally glued to the screen. Sam had figured that maybe since he had seen it he’d at least send some comment Robb’s way, but no.

That’s when Sam realizes a couple of things. First, that now that he thinks about it, Robb  _does_  have a thing or ten in common with good old Steve Rogers, which  _might_  explain why Theon says he likes  _him_  best. Sam would have thought he’d go for someone more… anti-hero, all things considered.

Second: Jon is still not interested. Also, it’s dark, and the room is half-empty, and no one else is in their row, and Sam has already seen this, so - so what if he actually took advantage of it?

Before thinking back on it or wondering what his dad would think, he swallows and reaches out and puts his hand on Jon’s.

He feels Jon go still for a moment, but before he can change his mind, Jon has turned his own and grasped his fingers tightly enough that he couldn’t break the hold if he didn’t put serious effort in it.

Then Sam moves closer - not that he thinks Robb and Theon in front of them would mind, but since they’re actually watching the movie maybe he should keep his voice down.

“Uh - I’m… I’m sorry, you know?”

“About what, dragging me to see superhero movies?”

“No, insisting that we didn’t - that we  _didn’t_. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that -“

“Don’t. I think I know.”

He doesn’t sound angry, at least.

“Uh. Okay. But - just, we don’t have to keep on doing that. I mean, I don’t want to keep on doing that.”

“Sam?”

“Yes?”

“How about we stop wasting time talking?”

So  _fine_ , maybe he barely pays attention to the latter half of the movie, too, because he’s too busy reveling in the joys of making out in the back row. Half an hour or so from the end Jon tells him that he can’t physically take it anymore and can’t they just go to the restroom, it’s not like anyone’s going to be there, and Sam obviously doesn’t know anything about taking small steps, because he’s so turned on by now that he doesn’t even care if someone sees them going at it.

They do end up in the restroom, Jon slamming the door behind him and locking it before he goes on his knees a moment later, and Sam  _would_  have told him to stop and that it was too cramped but the moment Jon puts his mouth on him his brain completely shuts down, and it should probably be embarrassing that it doesn’t take him two full minutes to come, but then again when he shoves his hand down Jon’s jeans he doesn’t last much longer.

“This definitely wasn’t a wasted ticket,” Jon murmurs against his mouth while they try to clean up as quickly as they can at the sink, and they come back inside just as the credits start.

“Right. We should probably head out then,” Jon says, but then Sam grabs his wrist.

“Jon, we’ve been together six months, you’ve known me for years and you still don’t know that if it’s a Marvel movie there’ll be a scene after the credits?”

Jon groans and goes back to their seats.

He also doesn’t watch any of the scenes left, since when Theon clears his throat and the lights turn on they’re still kissing, but Sam completely agrees with not having wasted a cent of that ticket.

When Jon grabs his hand as they head out, he forces himself not to freak out and doesn’t break the hold.

It feels damn  _good._

 

—

 

 _Good thing sometimes people listen to me_ , Theon thinks as he sits down at the diner’s table and stares at the lovebirds in front of him. Sam  _did_  follow the advice to the letter, since he’s been holding hands with Jon since they left the cinema, never mind that their shirts are buttoned wrong and that Theon’s teeth are rotting from all the random kissing that’s been happening, but then again he can hardly complain, since  _he_  was the one more or less starting it.

Good for them. Really. He wishes that they weren’t five minutes from his place, because otherwise he’d be following the example, but who knows if someone who works with his dad or lives in their building sees them. Better play it safe.

“Well,” he says when Robb comes back to the table - he was the one bringing all their orders at the counter -, “at least you liked this one better than the first.”

“It  _was_  better than the first. I mean, not that I remember the first, but -“

“I can’t even believe you fell asleep through it.”

“And I can’t even believe you’re so obvious in your preferences,” Jon interrupts.

“What? Snow, you didn’t even watch that movie. I mean, am I wrong or you both left for more interesting things at some point?”

Sam goes red in the face, but Jon doesn’t stop smirking. “Theon, I  _did_  watch the first hour of it. And I’ll have to admit it, I’ve rarely seen a movie where the protagonist was pretty much Robb’s reincarnation in another life. If he was blonde, taller and older, obviously.”

Robb chokes on his coffee.

“ _What_?”

“Of course, you don’t go around hitting people with shields, either, but -“

“Snow, that’s not funny.”

“Er, actually I thought the same thing?” Sam looks sheepish as everyone turns in his direction. “I mean - maybe he’s exaggerating a bit, but the basics are there.”

“You’re both seeing things,” Theon mutters into his own beer bottle, but he doesn’t sound that convincing and everyone probably noticed it.

“I don’t think we are,” Jon keeps on, sounding entirely too cheery for Theon’s tastes.

“Jon, I’m not a  _specimen_ ,” Robb finally says, still sounding like he’s this close to cough his lungs out.

“Well, you need a few inches and you should probably hit the gym a bit more, but you could nail that with a bit of work.”

“To be honest,” Sam thankfully (maybe) interrupts, “that’s not the point. I mean. He’s  _Captain America_  because all the qualities were there to begin with, the body was just a consequence. But like, he didn’t  _need_  that. Have you even paid attention to the first movie when we watched it at Grenn’s house?”

“… Ah, _that_ was the first movie?”

“What did you think it was?”

“No clue? I was too busy thinking of a way to ask you out.”

Theon wants to let his head fall against the table, just once, to make a statement, but he’s not going to make the waiting staff think he’s having a breakdown. “And you have the nerve to make fun of  _me_ , Snow?”

“I wasn’t making fun of you, I was merely stating the obvious.”

Theon is  _really_  grateful that the waitress chooses that exact moment to bring their burgers - at least he’s being spared the rest of  _the obvious_.

Robb glances at him once in a while though, and while he doesn’t do anything of the kind of what his own half-brother is doing to Sam, he’s keeping their legs pressed closed together and maybe Theon is a bit grateful that he’s keeping contact even if he can’t do much more than that.

It lasts exactly the time it takes Jon to eat half of the burger.

“And to think that I was sure your favorite would be, like, Iron Man. You know, with the unnecessary sarcasm and all.”

“And to think that I didn’t peg you for the guy who likes to enact romantic comedies in public. Not that I mind.”

 _That_  does a nice job of shutting Jon up, and thankfully when Sam speaks up is to ask him how he thinks they’re going to adapt the comic for the third movie, and Theon almost forgives him for siding with Jon a moment ago.

Not that they aren’t both right, because they  _are_ , but he had kind of been hoping that no one would notice that he does, in fact, have a type. Well, that type is actually  _Robb_  - it’s not his fault if Steve Rogers is pretty much Robb to a T, if you don’t count the hair color and a few other relatively minor details.

Robb doesn’t say anything except remarking that it was definitely less boring than the first movie, and Theon  _would_  kiss him, except that of course he can’t. Not here, anyway.

By the time they’re done, Jon says that he’s going to  _walk Sam home_ , which is apparently in a completely different direction than his and Robb’s place or Theon’s, so they’ll make themselves scarce, and Theon hadn’t really expect Sam to go red in the face before muttering  _thanks_  at him as they stand up from their seats.

They leave holding hands, which - right, still teeth-rotting, but  _fine_ , maybe he’s glad that it worked. Fuck knows they were both being idiots.

The moment they turn the corner, though, Robb tugs at his sleeve  _quite_  with some force.

“What?”

“Not to pry, but - were they right?”

Oh,  _no._

“About what?”

“About - is  _he_  seriously your favorite because for some reason he reminds you of me?”

“ _For some reason_? Robb, maybe you don’t see it but you’re pretty much like that. Down to those times in elementary school where you ended up in the infirmary because someone pushed one of Jon’s friends.”

“Anyone would have done that!”

“But  _you_ did it and you’re also proving my point. And anyway, so fucking what? I mean, what if it’s the case?”

He knows he’s blushing furiously. He must - he can feel the heat going up his cheeks, regardless of the chill.

“If it’s the case, it’s - kind of sweet?”

“ _What_? You didn’t just use that word.”

“Last I checked, it wasn’t an insult. And who said I minded?”

“You - you don’t?”

Robb looks at him as if he’s a first-class idiot. “Why would I? I’m kind of flattered, for that matter. I mean,  _that_  reminds you of me? Who wouldn’t be?”

Theon kind of wants to tell him that he’s further proving his point - no one else would have taken it that well, in his experience. “A lot of people, as far as I know.”

Robb gives him a stare that makes Theon’s knees go weak for a moment, then he visibly swallows and moves closer.

“Right. So, since we already said you were staying over tonight, how about we get a move on and go back home so I can properly show you my opinion?”

“You need to be home to show me your  _opinion_?”

“Considering that what I was thinking includes not having that many clothes on and a flat surface, _yes_ , I think we should go home.” Robb lowers his voice at that, the hand he has on the small of his back presses a bit more, and - fuck this, Theon isn’t holding out until they are at Robb’s place.

He grabs Robb’s arm and drags him behind the corner - the hallway is dark enough and he doubts anyone will see them - before he crushes their mouths together. Maybe he moans into the kiss a bit when Robb’s hands go up to his head and Robb presses him closer, his fingers tangling in between his hair, and god but if only they weren’t in public and in the open he  _totally_  would go farther, and maybe when he moves away because he really needs to breathe he just leans back enough to pull air in, and doesn’t try to get out of the arm Robb has around his waist.

“I think it’s a good plan,” he finally says, still sounding a bit out of breath.

“Captain America would approve, then?”

“God, shut the fuck up, Stark.”

“Why? It was  _your_  idea. Maybe next Halloween I should -“

“What did I just say?”

“Why? Not a good idea?”

“Don’t think I wouldn’t appreciate seeing you in  _that_  costume, but I think you could put your mouth to better use right now.”

“Well, I will have to bring my brothers trick or treating for the next few years, you know.”

“… You were serious.”

“When am I not?” Robb is smiling just a bit, but it’s obvious he’s not  _entirely_  teasing. Theon needs him to stop talking or he’s not going to be able to keep himself in check.

So Theon kisses him again, effectively shutting him up for good, and  _fine_ , he knows it means they’ll spend half an hour in the hallway, but he doesn’t mind delaying for a bit.

Robb laughs against his mouth and Theon decides that maybe another double date with Snow around would be worth the effort, if it means that it ends like this all over again. Patience if he’ll have to endure more teasing - it was entirely worth it.

 

End.


End file.
